Powering An Information Delivery Network

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are disclosed for leveraging user premises supplied electric power to power active components in an information delivery network. In response to one or more conditions, an active component may switch an input power path from using grid-supplied or battery power to draw power from a user premises. The decision to switch the power path may be based on a number of conditions, for example, whether power is available from the grid, the relative cost of power from the user premises and whether the power from the user premises includes power from a renewable source.

BACKGROUND

An information delivery network may include a number of activecomponents to enable the delivery of services to users. Traditionally,these active components receive electric power from a power grid,supplied by an electric generating station. A power grid may be subjectto regional outages, for example, due to weather related issues or dueto the failure of a component in the grid, such as a transformer. When apower outage occurs, active network components may continue to bepowered by backup batteries, but these batteries provide a limitedamount of power and can drain quickly, leaving the active componentswithout power, and causing an interruption in services on theinformation delivery network.

In recent years, it has become more common for households to generatetheir own electric power, for example, via renewable sources. Inaddition, households may be able to choose a supplier of electric powerfrom a competitive marketplace, thereby having access to electric powerpricing that may differ from the pricing available or in use by theoperator of the information delivery network.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the present disclosure inorder to provide a basic understanding of some aspects described herein.This summary is not an extensive overview, and is not intended toidentify key or critical elements or to delineate the scope of theclaims. The following summary merely presents various described aspectsin a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed descriptionprovided below.

In some aspects of the disclosure, active components in an informationdelivery network may determine to receive electric power from a userpremises. In some embodiments, the power received from the user premisesmay be provided, by the active component, to other active components inthe network. In an embodiment, an active component may communicate withanother device to obtain information for use in determining a powerinput path.

In some embodiments, the determining of a power input path may be basedon a price of power available from a user premises. In some embodiments,the determining may be based on whether or not the power available froma user premises includes power from a renewable source. In someembodiments, the determining of the power input path may be in responseto a lack of power from a portion of the power grid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some features herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, likenumerals reference similar elements between the drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example information access and distributionnetwork in accordance with one or more aspects as described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example computing device that may be used toimplement any of the features and devices described herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example network configuration in accordance withone or more aspects as described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates a signal amplifier in accordance with one or moreaspects as described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example signal amplifier in accordance withone or more aspects as described herein.

FIGS. 6-7 are example flow charts illustrating methods performed inaccordance with one or more aspects as described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of various illustrative embodiments,reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a parthereof, and in which is shown, by way of illustration, variousembodiments in which aspects of the disclosure may be practiced. It isto be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structuraland functional modifications may be made, without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example information distribution network 100 onwhich many of the various features described herein may be implemented.The network 100 may be any type of information distribution network,such as satellite, telephone, cellular, wireless, etc. One example maybe a wireless network, an optical fiber network, a coaxial cablenetwork, or a hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) distribution network. Suchnetworks 100 use a series of interconnected communication links 101(e.g., coaxial cables, optical fibers, wireless, etc.) to connectmultiple premises 102 (e.g., businesses, homes, consumer dwellings,etc.) to a local office 103 (e.g., a headend, a processing facility,etc.). The local office 103 may transmit downstream information signalsonto the links 101, and each premises 102 may have a receiver used toreceive and process those signals.

There may be one link 101 originating from the local office 103, and itmay be split a number of times to distribute the signal to variouspremises 102 in the vicinity (which may be many miles) of the localoffice 103. The links 101 may include components not illustrated, suchas splitters, filters, amplifiers, etc. to help convey the signalclearly, but in general each split introduces a bit of signaldegradation. Portions of the links 101 may also be implemented withfiber-optic cable, while other portions may be implemented with coaxialcable, other lines, or wireless communication paths.

The local office 103 may include an interface 104, such as a terminationsystem (TS), for example a cable modem termination system (CMTS) in anexample of an HFC-type network, which may be a computing deviceconfigured to manage communications between devices on the network oflinks 101 and backend devices such as servers 105-107 (to be discussedfurther below). In the example of an HFC-type network, the TS may be asspecified in a standard, such as the Data Over Cable Service InterfaceSpecification (DOCSIS) standard, published by Cable TelevisionLaboratories, Inc. (a.k.a. CableLabs), or it may be a similar ormodified device instead. The TS may be configured to place data on oneor more downstream frequencies to be received by modems at the variouspremises 102, and to receive upstream communications from those modemson one or more upstream frequencies. The local office 103 may alsoinclude one or more network interfaces 108, which can permit the localoffice 103 to communicate with various other external networks 109.These networks 109 may include, for example, Internet Protocol (IP)networks Internet devices, telephone networks, cellular telephonenetworks, fiber optic networks, local wireless networks (e.g., WiMAX),satellite networks, and any other desired network, and the interface 108may include the corresponding circuitry needed to communicate on thenetwork 109, and to other devices on the network such as a cellulartelephone network and its corresponding cell phones.

As noted above, the local office 103 may include a variety of servers105-107 that may be configured to perform various functions. Forexample, the local office 103 may include a push notification server105. The push notification server 105 may generate push notifications todeliver data and/or commands to the various premises 102 in the network(or more specifically, to the devices in the premises 102 that areconfigured to detect such notifications). The local office 103 may alsoinclude a content server 106. The content server 106 may be one or morecomputing devices that are configured to provide content to users in thehomes. This content may be, for example, video on demand movies,television programs, songs, audio, services, information, text listings,etc. In some embodiments, the content server 106 may include software tovalidate (or initiate the validation of) user identities andentitlements, locate and retrieve (or initiate the locating andretrieval of) requested content, encrypt the content, and initiatedelivery (e.g., streaming, transmitting via a series of contentfragments) of the content to the requesting user and/or device.

The local office 103 may also include one or more application servers107. An application server 107 may be a computing device configured tooffer any desired service, and may run various languages and operatingsystems (e.g., servlets and JSP pages running on Tomcat/MySQL, OSX, BSD,Ubuntu, Red Hat Linux, HTML5, JavaScript, AJAX and COMET). For example,an application server may be responsible for collecting televisionprogram listings information and generating a data download forelectronic program guide listings. Another application server may beresponsible for monitoring user media habits and collecting thatinformation for use in selecting advertisements. Another applicationserver may be responsible for formatting and inserting advertisements ina video stream and/or content item being transmitted to the premises102. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the sameapplication server may be responsible for one or more of the abovelisted responsibilities.

An example premises 102 a may include an interface 110 (such as a modem,or another receiver and/or transmitter device suitable for a particularnetwork), which may include transmitters and receivers used tocommunicate on the links 101 and with the local office 103. Theinterface 110 may be, for example, a coaxial cable modem (for coaxialcable lines 101), a fiber interface node (for fiber optic lines 101), orany other desired modem device. The interface 110 may be connected to,or be a part of, a gateway interface device 111. The gateway interfacedevice 111 may be a computing device that communicates with theinterface 110 to allow one or more other devices in the home tocommunicate with the local office 103 and other devices beyond the localoffice. The gateway interface device 111 may be a set-top box (STB),digital video recorder (DVR), computer server, or any other desiredcomputing device. The gateway interface device 111 may also include (notshown) local network interfaces to provide communication signals toother devices in the home (e.g., user devices), such as televisions 112,additional STBs 113, personal computers 114, laptop computers 115,wireless devices 116 (wireless laptops, tablets and netbooks, mobilephones, mobile televisions, personal digital assistants (PDA), etc.),telephones 117, window security sensors 118, door home security sensors119, tablet computers 120, personal activity sensors 121, video cameras122, motion detectors 123, microphones 124, and/or any other desiredcomputers, sensors, and/or other devices. Examples of the local networkinterfaces may include Multimedia Over Coax Alliance (MoCA) interfaces,Ethernet interfaces, universal serial bus (USB) interfaces, wirelessinterfaces (e.g., IEEE 802.11), Bluetooth interfaces, and others.

FIG. 2 illustrates general hardware elements of an example computingdevice 200 that can be used to implement any of the elements discussedherein and/or illustrated in the figures. The computing device 200 mayinclude one or more processors 201, which may execute instructions of acomputer program to perform any of the features described herein. Theinstructions may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium ormemory, to configure the operation of the processor 201. For example,instructions may be stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 202, randomaccess memory (RAM) 203, removable media 204, such as a Universal SerialBus (USB) drive, compact disk (CD) or digital versatile disk (DVD),floppy disk drive, or any other desired electronic storage medium.Instructions may also be stored in an attached (or internal) storage 205(e.g., hard drive, flash, etc.). The computing device 200 may includeone or more output devices, such as a display 206 (or an externaltelevision), and may include one or more output device controllers 207,such as a video processor. There may also be one or more user inputdevices 208, such as a remote control, keyboard, mouse, touch screen,microphone, camera, etc. The computing device 200 may also include oneor more network interfaces, such as input/output circuits 209 (such as anetwork card) to communicate with an external network 210. The networkinterface may be a wired interface, wireless interface, or a combinationof the two. In some embodiments, the interface 209 may include a modem(e.g., a cable modem), and the network 210 may include the communicationlinks 101 discussed above, the external network 109, an in-home network,a provider's wireless, coaxial, fiber, or hybrid fiber/coaxialdistribution system (e.g., a DOCSIS network), or any other desirednetwork.

The FIG. 2 example is an example hardware configuration. Modificationsmay be made to add, remove, combine, divide, etc. components as desired.Additionally, the components illustrated may be implemented using basiccomputing devices and components, and the same components (e.g.,processor 201, storage 202, user interface 205, etc.) may be used toimplement any of the other computing devices and components describedherein. For example, the various components herein may be implementedusing computing devices having components such as a processor executingcomputer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium,as illustrated in FIG. 2.

One or more aspects of the disclosure may be embodied in computer-usabledata and/or computer-executable instructions, such as in one or moreprogram modules, executed by one or more computers (such as computingdevice 200) or other devices to perform any of the functions describedherein. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks orimplement particular abstract data types when executed by a processor ina computer or other data processing device. The computer executableinstructions may be stored on one or more computer readable media suchas a hard disk, optical disk, removable storage media, solid statememory, RAM, etc. The functionality of the program modules may becombined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. In addition,the functionality may be embodied in whole or in part in firmware orhardware equivalents such as integrated circuits, field programmablegate arrays (FPGA), and the like. Example data structures may be used toillustrate one or more aspects described herein, but these are merelyillustrative examples.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example network configuration 300 as may be foundin the network 101 of FIG. 1. Content or other information may becommunicated between a local office 302, such as local office 103 ofFIG. 1, and equipment at a user premises 320, such as the premises 102of FIG. 1. In some network configurations, one or more optical fiberlines 304 may be used to transmit communications between the localoffice and other network components. In some configurations, coaxialcables may be used, rather than, or in addition to, optical fiber lines.The optical fiber line 304 may terminate at an optical node 306, whereoptical signals carried by the optical fiber line may be converted toelectrical signals for transmission over one or more coaxial cables 308toward a user premises 320. In some networks, the coaxial cable mayconnect directly to a user premises. Various components may bepositioned in the network between the optical node and the userpremises. For example, an information delivery network may employ one ormore signal amplifiers 310, 312, and 314, along the coaxial cablebetween the optical node and the user premises in order to maintain aparticular signal level for digital services. In addition, adistribution tap 316 may distribute the signals to one or more userpremises 320 via one or more coaxial cables 318.

Many of these network components require electric power in order tooperate. For example, signal amplifiers typically require electricpower. Some distribution taps, for example, an addressable tap, mayrequire electric power. In existing systems, these components mayreceive power from the power grid, often supported by a battery backup.As shown in FIG. 3, an optical node 306 may receive electric power via apower supply 322, which may receive power from the grid. Similarly,signal amplifier 326 may receive electric power via the power supply324, which may get power from the grid.

In some networks, active components may draw power from energytransmitted along the coaxial cable itself. In these networks, gridpower is typically converted to 60 volts alternating current (VAC) or 90VAC at a frequency of 60 Hz and supplied to the coaxial cable by asource at the optical node 306, such as by the power supply 322. Inthese networks the power may be transmitted on the center conductor ofthe coaxial cable from the optical node downstream to in-line devices,such as the signal amplifier 312, the distribution tap 316 and todevices at the user premises, such as telephony equipment or a networkinterface device. In some networks, banks of batteries or backup powergenerators may be located at the optical node 306 to supply power in theevent that grid power is lost.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example signal amplifier 400 in accordance withone or more aspects as described herein. A content signal received viathe signal input port 402 may be boosted (amplified) by the amp 408 andtransmitted out via the signal output port 406. In the example signalamplifier shown, grid power may be supplied to the signal amplifier viathe power port 404. Some signal amplifiers may receive power via thesignal input port 402. The signal amplifier 400 may transmit a portionof the power received to the signal output port 406 for use by otheractive components downstream.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example signal amplifier 500 in accordancewith one or more aspects as described herein. In the example shown, thesignal amplifier 500 may include a signal input port 502, a signaloutput port 506, a power input port 504, an amp 510 and a controller508. In some embodiments, the power input port 504 may be omitted. Insome embodiments, the controller 508 may include a processor, memory,voltage level detecting circuitry, power metering circuitry, powerswitching circuitry and/or other components. The controller 508 maydetect the state of power (for example, availability, quality orreliability) at one or more of the ports (502, 504, 506) and controlpower flow based on the detection, as discussed below in relation toFIG. 6. The signal amplifier of FIG. 5 is presented in a simplifiedillustration in order to facilitate ease in understanding. It should beunderstood by those skilled in the art that other configurationsincluding various components may implement the methods as describedherein.

In some embodiments, when the signal amplifier is receiving power viathe power input port 504 and the controller 508 detects sufficient poweron the signal input port 502, the controller may determine to draw powervia the signal input port 502. This may be preferred by a networkoperator, for example, due to cost factors.

In some embodiments, when the signal amplifier is receiving power viathe signal input port 502 and the controller 508 detects a loss ofpower, insufficient power or otherwise unreliable power at the signalinput port 502, the controller may determine to draw power from thepower port 504 or from the output port 506. In some embodiments, thecontroller 508 may determine to draw power from the power port 504 basedon the availability of power from that port.

In other embodiments, when the signal amplifier is powered by either thepower port or the signal input port and if the controller 508 detectssufficient power on the output port 506, the controller may determine toreceive power from the output port 506.

In some embodiments, the power received from any port may further beprovided out another port. For example, a portion of the power receivedfrom the output port 506 may be directed to the power port 504 in orderto charge a battery.

In still other embodiments, when power may be available from multipleports, the controller 508 may determine to draw power from more than oneport, thereby sharing the loading and reducing a power requirement atany one of the ports. For example, it may be advantageous to power thesignal amplifier from both the signal input port 502 and the signaloutput port 506.

In some embodiments, the controller 508 may be configured with apreference for receiving power from a particular port or ports. In someembodiments, the preference may consist of an ordered list, representingthe ports in order of preference. Various conditions may lead anoperator of a network to prefer power to be drawn from a particularport. For example, a particular port may be connected or otherwiseconfigured to receive power from a preferred source, such as an operatormanaged source, a less expensive source, or a source including renewableenergy. In various embodiments, a number of parameters may be configuredin the memory of the controller 508, including an indication as towhether the power available at a particular port includes power from arenewable source, the cost of the power available on the port, and/or alimit to the amount of power that may be drawn from the port. In someembodiments, the controller 508 may be configured to receive power froma particular port for a predetermined time period, for example duringbusiness hours or during off-peak grid power usage periods or based on aday of the week.

In some embodiments, the controller 508 may include communicationcapabilities to enable communication with external devices, for exampleto coordinate the flow of power. In some embodiments, the controller 508may communicate with a coordinating device, for example, with a networkdevice that manages power within the network. In some embodiments, thecontroller 508 may communicate with another signal amplifier.Communication may be via the coaxial cable at the input port 502 and/orthe output port 506. In some embodiments, the communication may be via aseparate communication port (not shown) or via wireless communications,such as Wi-Fi or other wireless standard. In some embodiments, thesignal amplifier may communicate with the next active componentupstream, via the input port 502, to inform the active component tocease drawing power from the power grid and to instead draw power fromthe coaxial cable.

In some embodiments, the controller 508 may communicate with equipmentat a user premises to receive information about the power available fromthe user premises. For example, information such as the cost of powerfrom the user premises or whether or not the power available from theuser premises includes power from a renewable source may be received.

In some embodiments, the cost of power available from a user premisesmay vary, for example, based on a real time pricing plan. In suchembodiments, the information may include estimated energy pricing atvarious times of a day. In some embodiments, a user premises may receivepower at a price different from the price paid by the network operatorfor power from the grid. For example, in some locations, users may beable to purchase power for their premises from various electric powersuppliers. The price from their chosen supplier may be less than theprice the operator pays for power. In some embodiments, the differencein price between the user premises supplied power and the networkoperator's grid supplied power may vary based on the time of day or onother factors, such as a current loading of the grid or a real timepricing methodology. In some embodiments, the controller 508 maycommunicate with external devices or networks in order to obtain realtime pricing. In some embodiments, communication between the controller508 and equipment at the user premises may conform to a MOCA standard.

Upon receiving information about the power availability from the userpremises, various internal, external or network operator supplied datamay be consulted by the controller to compare preferences for power withcertain fixed data, such as the cost of network operator grid power. Insome embodiments, the controller may compare the cost of the operatorsupplied power with the rate (cost) from the user premises and select toreceive power from the less expensive source. In some embodiments, thecontroller 508 may continue to monitor ports and communications overtime to best manage power to meet a particular goal, for example,minimizing power costs, maximizing the use of renewable energy orattaining a reliability metric.

In some embodiments, a battery level may be evaluated in conjunctionwith the decision by the controller 508 as to which port to draw powerfrom. For example, an operator may prefer to power active components,such as the signal amplifier 500, with grid supplied power, as long asit is available. After a loss of grid supplied power, active componentsmay receive power from a battery backup supply. In such examples, thecontroller 508 may be configured to draw power from the battery backupsupply until a particular battery level is reached, at which time thecontroller may switch to receive power from a user premises, via thesignal output port 506.

In some embodiments, the controller may measure or otherwise track aquantity of power drawn via the signal output port 506. The quantity ofpower may be later used during billing, for example to pay the user forthe power consumed from the user premises or to provide other benefitsto the user, such as discounted use of the information delivery networkor a discount on services provided by the network.

In some embodiments, the instantaneous power drawn from the userpremises may be limited so as to not overload the equipment or the linesthat carry the power. The acceptable power limit may be communicatedbetween the user premises and the controller or the limit may bepre-configured.

Although a signal amplifier has been discussed above, it should beunderstood by those skilled in the art that other active components inthe information delivery network may perform the methods as describedherein. For example, a distribution tap 316 may include a controller andmay perform methods including receiving power via a signal output portfrom a user premises, switching power flow via various ports andcommunicating power parameters and control with other components in thenetwork and/or at the user premises.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flow diagram illustrating an example method 600in accordance with one or more disclosed features described herein. Inone or more embodiments, the method illustrated in FIG. 6 and/or one ormore steps thereof may be performed by one or more computing devices(e.g., the signal amplifier 500, the distribution tap 316, and thelike). In other embodiments, the method illustrated in FIG. 6 and/or oneor more steps thereof may be embodied in computer-executableinstructions that are stored in a computer-readable medium, such as anon-transitory computer-readable memory. The steps in this flow diagramneed not all be performed in the order specified and some steps may beomitted and/or changed in order.

At step 602, electric power may be received via a first port. Forexample, the electric power may be received via a power port (such aspower input port 504 of FIG. 5) which may ultimately come from theelectric supply grid at a standard frequency and voltage, such as 120volts at 60 Hz. In other embodiments, the first port may be an upstreamcommunication port (such as the signal input port 502 of FIG. 5) and thepower received via the first port may be at 60 to 90 volts at afrequency of approximately 60 Hz. At step 604, a first metric associatedwith the electric power received via the first port may be compared witha second metric associated with electric power that may be available viaa second port. At step 606, it may be determined whether to receivepower from a second port. If it is determined to receive power via thesecond port, the method may continue to step 608 where power may bereceived via the second port.

In some embodiments, the second port may be a downstream communicationport (such as the signal output port 506 of FIG. 5). In someembodiments, the determination as to whether to receive power from thefirst port or the second port may be based on a comparison of the costof electric power available on the first port and the cost of electricpower available on the second port. In such embodiments, the decision toreceive electric power via the second port may be in response todetermining that the cost of the electric power available on the secondport is less than the cost of the electric power available on the firstport. The cost of power available via any of the ports may be made knownusing various techniques. For example, the costs may be communicated viawired or wireless methods. In some embodiments, the costs may bepre-configured. In other embodiments, a prediction of the relative costsmay be made and configured into the device.

In some embodiments, the determination as to whether to receive powerfrom the second port may be based on whether the electric poweravailable via the second port includes power from a renewable source. Insuch embodiments, the switching to receive electric power via the secondport may be in response to determining that the electric power availablevia the second port includes power from the renewable source. In someembodiments, the renewable source may include solar energy, wind energyor thermoelectric energy.

If it is determined at step 606 to continue to receive power via thefirst port, then the method may continue at step 610 where power maycontinue to be received via the first port.

In some embodiments, the electric power received via the second port maybe received from a user premises. For example, a device, such as thegateway interface device 111, the set-top box 113, the interface 110,and the like, at the user premises may supply power to the second port.

In some embodiments, the determination to receive power from the secondport may be based on receiving a communication indicative of a commandto receive electric power via the second port. For example, a commandmay be received which specifies the port should be used for receivingpower. In some embodiments, the power flow in the information deliverynetwork may be controlled and/or coordinated from a remote location. Insuch embodiments, one or more commands may be received by variousdevices in the network to configure those devices to draw power from oneor more ports.

In some embodiments, a quantity of power drawn from the second port maybe measured. In such embodiments, data indicative of the power usagequantity may be communicated to another device, for example to aid inbilling for the power used.

In some embodiments, responsive to receiving electric power on thesecond port, electric power may be provided (output) via the first port.In these embodiments, electric power provided (output) via the firstport may be limited, for example, based on a pre-configured parameter.

In some embodiments, the methods as described herein may be performed bya signal amplifier or a tap. In some embodiments, when the methods areperformed by a signal amplifier, electric power may initially bereceived via a first port, for example a signal input port or a powerinput port. In some embodiments, it may be determined to receiveelectric power via a second port, such as an amplified signal outputport.

In some embodiments, the determination as to whether to receive powerfrom the second port may be based on a price of the electric poweravailable via the second port. For example, a port may be selected forreceiving power in order to save on the cost of powering one or moredevices. In some embodiments, the decision may be based on a timeschedule. For example, in cases where a user premises is on a real timepricing power plan, power may be significantly less costly than a fixedrate price during certain hours of the night. In this example, a usermay allow power to be transmitted from their premises into theinformation delivery network for use in powering active components. Forexample, signal amplifier may be configured to draw power from aparticular port supplied by power from the user premises during thenight.

In other embodiments, the determination as to whether to receive powerfrom the second port may be based on a source of the electric poweravailable via the second port. For example, it may be preferred by thenetwork provider to use “green energy” or energy from one or morerenewable sources. Various methods may be used to determine whetherpower on a particular port includes power from a renewable source. Forexample, by the mere presence of power on a certain port, it may beassumed that the power includes power from a renewable source, forexample, by configuration. In some embodiments, the device may receive acommunication to indicate that a particular port has available powerfrom a renewable source.

In other embodiments, the determination as to whether to receive powerfrom the first port or the second port may be based on a command. Forexample, a device in a remote location may command various other devicesin the information delivery network to draw power from a particular portor ports. In some embodiments, the controller may configure variousnetwork branches to draw power locally, for example, from one or moreuser premises. In such embodiments, the various network branches may beconfigured to operate within power usage limits whereby user equipmentmay support the usage without overloading.

In some embodiments, electric power may be provided out via the firstport. In other words, power may be received via the second port and someor all of the received power may be transmitted out via the first port.In some embodiments, the first port may be connected to a battery andthe power may be used to charge the battery. In other embodiments, thefirst port may be an upstream communication port and the power suppliedout via the first port may power one or more active components upstream.

In some embodiments, the determination as to whether to receive powerfrom the first port or the second port may depend on receiving acommunication relating to a power parameter.

In some embodiments, an active component, such as the signal amplifier500, may request or negotiate for electric power, for example, viacommunications on the second port. For example, a negotiation may takeplace between the active component and equipment at a user premises. Thenegotiation may include an exchange of pricing information, scheduleinformation or information about whether the energy available from theuser is from a renewable source.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary flow diagram illustrating an example method 700in accordance with one or more disclosed features described herein. Inone or more embodiments, the method illustrated in FIG. 7 and/or one ormore steps thereof may be performed by one or more computing devices(e.g., the gateway interface device 111, the set-top box 113, theinterface 110, and the like). In other embodiments, the methodillustrated in FIG. 7 and/or one or more steps thereof may be embodiedin computer-executable instructions that are stored in acomputer-readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer-readablememory. The steps in this flow diagram need not all be performed in theorder specified and some steps may be omitted and/or changed in order.

At step 702, electric power may be received via a power port. Forexample, the electric power may be power from the electric supply gridor the electric power may be from a renewable source, such as a windgenerator. At step 704, a power parameter may be received. In someembodiments, the power parameter may be indicative of the source ofpower that is being received in step 702. In other embodiments, thepower parameter may provide information about a limit to the amount ofpower which may be supplied to another device. The power parameter maybe configured or provided via a user interface. At step 706, the powerparameter may be communicated to another device.

At step 708, a request for power may be received. At step 710, the powerreceived at step 702 (via the power port) may be converted to a formsuitable for sending to the second device or to a form suitable for aparticular type of network, such as an information delivery network. Insome embodiments, the power may be converted from 120 volts at 60 Hz to60 Volts at 60 Hz. In other embodiments, the power may be converted to90 volts at 60 Hz. One skilled in the art would recognize thatconversion to numerous other voltages and/or frequencies are possible,given the methods taught herein.

At step 712, the converted power may be transmitted out via a port, suchas a communication port, to a second device. In some embodiments, thepower may be transmitted to a distribution tap. In other embodiments,the power may be transmitted to a signal amplifier. In some embodiments,the power may be transmitted using the center conductor of a coaxialcable.

In some embodiments, the amount of power transmitted via thecommunication port may be measured or otherwise quantified so thatpayment or other type of credit for the power supplied may bedetermined. In some embodiments, the amount of power supplied via thecommunications port may be controlled so as to not exceed a limit. Insome embodiments, the limit may be based on an agreed quantity of powerto supply. In other embodiments, the limit may be based on apre-determined value for safety reasons. In still other embodiments, thelimit may be based on an amount of renewable energy available, forexample where the quantity supplied may be less than the amountavailable.

In some embodiments, the power parameter may include an indication ofwhether the power is from a renewable energy source, such as solarenergy, wind energy, geothermal energy, bioenergy, hydropower, oceanenergy, or other renewable source. In some embodiments, the powerparameter may include an offer price. In other embodiments, the powerparameter may include a power usage limit.

In some embodiments, power may be offered without request from thenetwork. In other embodiments, power may be offered in response to arequest from the network.

An aspect of the disclosure relates to reversing the flow of theelectric power in an information delivery network and allowing userswith renewable energy to direct electric power into the informationdelivery network so that it may be used by signal amplifiers,distribution taps and/or other devices.

In some embodiments, it may be determined that the user premises isgenerating more electric power than is being consumed by the premises.In these embodiments, electric power may be supplied to the informationdelivery network. In some embodiments, if the user premises equipmentdetermines that there is no longer an excess of power, for example,because an appliance at the premises, such as an electric oven, may havebeen turned on, it may be determined to stop supplying power to theinformation delivery network. The user equipment may communicate to anactive component upstream in the information delivery network to informthat the power supply will be, or has been, suspended.

In some embodiments, the information delivery network topography mayresemble a tree with branches, with each branch leading to one or moreuser premises. In some embodiments, the controller 508 may communicatewith other active components in the information delivery network tocoordinate or participate in the coordination of power distributionwithin the network or to coordinate power flow to various parts of thenetwork. For example, signal amplifiers may be positioned inneighborhoods close to user premises. If power were to be lost in aparticular neighborhood while still being available in a nearbyneighborhood, the active components may communicate to coordinate powersharing among neighborhoods. In some embodiments, grid power may be lostover a large area of the network while a user premises in the networkmay have electric power available, for example, power generated from thesun, wind or thermoelectric sources. In these embodiments, thecontroller may coordinate with equipment at the user premises and/orwith other active components in the network to draw a quantity of powerfrom the user premises and to distribute the power into the network foruse by components in areas without grid power.

In some embodiments, the controller may limit the power to only thoseneighborhoods nearby. In some embodiments, when there are multiple userpremises with power available, the information delivery network may drawpower from one or more of them. In some embodiments, considerations maybe taken to ensure that power is limited so as to not overload a part ofthe network or damage equipment.

In some embodiments, the network operator may determine that aparticular part of the information delivery network may consume userpremises provided power while another part of the network may consumegrid power. For example, active components downstream of an edgeresource manager may be powered by user premises provided power, whileactive components upstream of the edge resource manager may be poweredby operator-provided power. In some embodiments, the decision may dependon the amount of power required by a part of the network such that powercarried may be limited so as to not degrade performance or certainnetwork components.

In some embodiments, an active component may draw power from the userpremises in the event of an upstream failure. In these embodiments, whenan active component detects a loss of power on the network, thecomponent may signal a component downstream to begin drawing power andsupplying it back upstream in the network. In some embodiments, thesignaling may be automatic, for example, in the event of an outage. Whenan upstream power source is impacted, the active component may signalequipment at the user premises to request power.

A benefit provided by the methods described herein is that theinformation delivery network may be less dependent on the power grid. Itmay also be preferred to power the information delivery network withrenewable energy.

The descriptions above are merely example embodiments of variousconcepts. They may be rearranged/divided/combined as desired, and one ormore components or steps may be added or removed without departing fromthe spirit of the present disclosure. The scope of this patent shouldonly be determined by the claims that follow.

1. A method comprising: receiving, by an electronic device in a contentdelivery network, first electric power via a first port; comparing afirst metric associated with the first electric power and a secondmetric, wherein the second metric is associated with a second electricpower available via a second port; responsive to the comparing,determining to receive the second electric power via the second port,wherein the second port comprises a downstream communications port; andreceiving the second electric power.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe second electric power is received from a user premises.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the comparing comprises comparing a cost ofthe first electric power and a cost of the second electric power andwherein the determining to receive the second electric power is inresponse to determining that the cost of the second electric power isless than the cost of the first electric power.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the comparing comprises comparing a source of the firstelectric power and a source of the second electric power and wherein thedetermining to receive the second electric power is in response todetermining that at least a portion of the second electric power is froma renewable source.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the renewablesource comprises solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy,bioenergy, hydropower, or ocean energy.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the determining is responsive to receiving a communicationindicative of a command to receive the second electric power.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: measuring a quantity of powerreceived from the second port; and reporting the quantity of power via acommunication to a user premises device.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising: responsive to receiving the second electric power,providing at least a portion of the second electric power via the firstport.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least the portion of thesecond electric power is limited based on a pre-configured parameter orbased on a parameter received via a communication from a user premises.10. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device comprises asignal amplifier or a distribution tap.
 11. A method comprising:receiving, by a signal amplifier in a content delivery network, firstelectric power via a first port; comparing a first metric associatedwith the first electric power and a second metric, wherein the secondmetric is associated with a second electric power available via a secondport; responsive to the comparing, determining to receive secondelectric power via the second port, wherein the second port comprises anamplified signal output port; and receiving the second electric power.12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first port comprises a signalinput port or a power input port.
 13. The method of claim 11, whereinthe comparing comprises comparing a price of the first electric power toa price of the second electric power, a source of the first electricpower to a source of the second electric power, or an availability ofthe first electric power to an availability of the second electricpower.
 14. The method of claim 11, further comprising: responsive toreceiving the second electric power, providing at least a portion of thesecond electric power via the first port.
 15. The method of claim 11,wherein the determining is responsive to receiving a communicationindicative of a command to receive the second electric power.
 16. Amethod comprising: receiving electric power via a power input port;receiving at least one power parameter; wherein the power parameterrelates to a source of the electric power; communicating the at leastone power parameter via a communication port; receiving a request toprovide power; converting the electric power from a first voltage to aconverted electric power having a second voltage; and transmitting theconverted electric power via the communication port.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, further comprising: measuring a quantity of the convertedelectric power transmitted.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein thequantity of the converted electric power transmitted is controlledwithin a limit.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least onepower parameter comprises an indication that the electric powercomprises solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, bioenergy,hydropower, or ocean energy.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the atleast one power parameter further comprises an offer price or a usagelimit.